Mighty Macs move to 2-0 in CSAC

EAST WHITELAND – Granted, the wins have come against winless basketball teams, but the Immaculata women are 2-0 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference, and aren’t about to make any apologies.

A young team still trying to find ways to replace a pair of 1,000-point scorers lost to graduation, the Mighty Macs fully appreciate every ‘W’ and are currently riding a three-game winning streak following Monday’s 66-34 clobbering of CSAC foe Cairn, formerly Philadelphia Biblical, at Alumae Hall.

“We’re happy about 2-0,” said IU head coach Patty Canterino. “Anybody can win on any given night, so we take every team seriously.”

With a four-game home stand now complete, Immaculata will take a 3-3 overall mark into Wednesday’s road trip to arch-rival Cabrini. The Macs held Cairn (0-2, 0-5 overall) to 29-percent shooting and eight points below its season average.

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“We are starting to play like a team,” said sophomore guard Mackie Fitzgerald, who was a standout off the bench. “That’s what we are working on right now, trying to get our chemistry going.”

This one was over in a hurry. The Mighty Macs scored 27 of the final 33 points of the first half to take a commanding 37-12 lead into the locker room. Fitzgerald outscored the Highlanders all by herself (13-12) in the opening 20 minutes, but the real star was an IU defense that forced 13 turnovers and allowed just four buckets.

“We were working the ball well, we got some steals which is very important because we believe our defense generates our offense,” Fitzgerald said.

“We started off a little sluggish but then we really opened it up,” Canterino added. “We started hitting some big shots, we got some key rebounds and turnovers and we were pushing the ball down the floor.”

It was so one-sided in the early going, Canterino was concerned about intensity and motivation and it was justified as Immaculata failed to score a point through the first four and a half minutes of the second half. But the Macs soon refocused, and proceeded to extend an already sizeable margin.

Sophomore guard Sara Smith was nearly perfect offensively and led IU with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the line. Point guard Chrissy Esbensen chipped in 11 points, four assists and two steals for Immaculata, which wound up playing 15 of 16 players on the roster.

“Sara did a great job in the second half driving to the basket,” Canterino pointed out. “And our kids off the bench did a great job, including Mackie. They are young but they are making improvements.

“Every day we get better and that’s our plan. It’s a learning process. We can say it as a coaching staff, but the players have to keep doing it over and over until they get it. Most are getting it.”